


A Merry Little Christmas

by alexcat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, holiday-themed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:07:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28150605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: All of the Avengers are at the Tower for Christmas and love is in the air for two of them.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13
Collections: 2020 Captain America/Iron Man Holiday Exchange





	A Merry Little Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tunastork (mariexa)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariexa/gifts).



> I love fluff and love the chance to write it.

It was Christmas season at Avenger’s Tower. 

It was Steve’s second Christmas in over sixty-five years, well his second thawed out Christmas. Of course, it felt like only a couple of years ago that he spent his last Christmas in Brooklyn. It _was_ only a few years ago to him. And a lifetime. 

So much had changed in his life, including this brave new world that he woke up to. He wasn’t sure what to do most days. Being Captain America was the only thing that made any sense to him right now. Last year, he’d spent the holiday with Natasha here at the tower. The two of them had watched movies and eaten a lot of junk food. 

This year, everyone was in attendance – Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Thor and Steve. They were one big, strange and dysfunctional family, and he was kind of excited by it. 

He had worked out of the Tower the last year, even though he and Natasha still worked for SHIELD. Clint did, too, but he’d been somewhere else most of the time. Steve had learned that it was difficult to get a straight answer from Clint on the best of days, so he didn’t ask. It was best not to. 

Tony had been gone a lot in the last year as well. There had been that awful business with Aldrich Killian and Extremis last Christmas and he’d had the Arc Reactor removed as well. Steve had been terrified when he heard that Stark had apparently been killed, but Natasha assured him that Stark was hard to kill and that he would turn up. 

He did and moved back into the Tower sans Pepper Potts. No one asked him about that little detail.

Steve was still a bit out of sorts even after being thawed more than a year. He had no idea who Steve Rogers was supposed to be. He and Natasha were friends, but not as close as she and Clint. Tony and Bruce had the science thing going on and Thor, well, Thor was a god. 

He felt alone and more than a little at loose ends. 

A couple of days before Christmas, someone knocked on his door. 

“It’s open.”

Stark walked in. “You should lock the door. You never know what kind of people live here.”

Steve laughed. “Not too scared of any of you.” 

“We’re the most dangerous people on the planet. A hulk, a god, an archer, an assassin and the tin man.” 

“And a supersoldier,” Steve finished for him. 

“I have been elected to tell everyone that we’re all going to be here at the Tower this year for the holiday and someone – Natasha, by name – expects us to make it a cheery, bright holiday.”

Steve grinned. “She is a bossy thing.”

“She is not wrong. We are a family of sorts.”

“I suppose. I haven’t ever had a lot of family. It was just me and my ma when I was a kid and then I had Bucky.” 

“My dad was usually working and my mom, well, she drank a bit sometimes. Jarvis gave me a Christmas most years and I’ve spent a few of them with Rhodey and his family. Miss Potts and I had a hell of a holiday last year.”

“You sure did. I was never so glad to hear that someone was all right.” 

Tony looked at him a moment and cocked his head sideways. “Really? I was not sure you liked me at all.” 

Steve smiled at him. “I’m not sure I do. You’re an acquired taste, I expect.” 

“I’m not sure how to take that.” 

Steve shrugged. “One I think I am acquiring.” 

Tony perked up at that. “You haven’t tasted me yet,” he finally said, both challenging and teasing at the same time. 

Steve wasn’t sure what to say so he changed the subject. “What do you want for Christmas, Tony?” 

“World peace?”

“Seriously.” 

Tony thought a moment. “To spend the day with people I like and people who like me and who don’t feel obligated.” 

Steve nodded. “But we are obligated! Or Natasha will cut us,” Steve said with a laugh. “She’s dangerous with those knives.” 

“Very true. I don’t mind spending time with any of you.” He laughed. “Except Barton. I’m sure he’s going to shoot me full of arrows one day. Oh, we do have another obligation. Romanov said we have to choose,” he made quotation marks with his fingers, “’an appropriate tree’ for the den. Apparently the 20 foot one in the lobby downstairs was not enough.”

The den was a large common room with a large television, comfortable chairs and a sofa, a microwave, a fridge and some tables for eating and playing games. There was an antique pool table on one end of the room, too. Now there would be a Christmas tree.

“She also said she expects gifts under that tree on Christmas day,” Tony added. 

“Sounds like we should get busy then.” 

“Happy can drive us to a couple of Christmas tree lots and we can have the tree delivered when we find one,” Tony told him. 

“Does Natasha have decorations?” Steve asked.

“No idea. I just follow orders. Grab your coat and let’s do this.” 

Happy was waiting in the parking garage for them. They drove to a lot nearby. Steve had never bought a tree before, and found that the idea thrilled him just a little. The day was cold and a little snowy, a perfect day to think about Christmas trees. They walked together, looking at trees and talking about each one. 

“This is it!” Tony said, pointing to perfect eight-foot tree. 

Steve spotted another one. It was tall and a little crooked and a bit on the skinny side. “I like this one! It has character,” he told Tony.

“Do you know about the Charlie Brown Christmas tree?” Tony asked, grinning.

“I do! Nat and I watched it last year. This isn’t a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It’s just a little crooked and a little skinny. I was skinny once. We can make it look great!”

“God, you really are an eternal optimist, aren’t you?” Tony asked, but kindly. 

“I might be. What do you say?” 

Tony nodded. They bought the tree and Steve grabbed a bunch of mistletoe on the way out, tossing the money on the table where the displays were and hiding the mistletoe in his coat while Tony arranged to have the tree delivered. Maybe everyone would get caught under the sprig he was going to hang over the doorway. He didn’t dare let himself acknowledge that he might have been thinking of kissing Stark. He’d been thinking of Stark more and more lately. 

“It’s cold out there!” Tony said after they were warmly sitting in the car. “I could go for some hot chocolate. How about you, Cap?” 

Steve nodded. 

Happy took them to a coffee shop down the street from the tree lot and they went inside. They ordered hot chocolates and drank them at a small table in the back. There were cupcakes with Santa hats of icing as well. Steve had to have one of those. 

“I love being so warm. We were never really warm when I was a kid. We heated with coal and it cost money we didn’t have, so we had be sparing with it. Ma and I bundled up and still we were cold.”

“I have to say I was never cold. I was alone sometimes, but not cold. I found that you could still pay for a companion on Christmas. I think hanging out with all of you guys is more fun, though.”

“Even with Field Marshall Romanov?” Steve asked with a laugh. 

“Oh yes! Seeing her act so bossy is an amazing thing. This is the toughest, deadliest woman in the world and she wants us all to put up a tree and give gifts to one another.” 

“I suppose that’s a Christmas miracle in and of itself.” 

Happy joined them at the table with his own cocoa and some elf cookies, which he gladly shared. 

“Will you be joining us for Christmas in the Tower, Happy?” Tony asked him. 

Happy was certainly much more than an employee to Tony, Steve thought. Tony had told him about all the years with only Rhodes and Happy as his friends. He was glad Tony had them around. 

“I’m going to visit my mother this year, boss. She misses her ‘little’ boy and I miss her.” 

“You’re going to miss Natasha’s Christmas,” Steve told him. 

“I’ll be back for New Year’s. I might be needed to carry drunken Avengers to the car,” he said with a laugh. “You never know about this one.” He pointed to Tony.

“I’ll miss you, Happy,” Tony told him.

“No, you won’t. You’ll be fine with Miss Romanov and rest of the Avengers.”

They went back to the Tower after and Tony walked to Steve to his quarters. “You tell her why we got the crooked tree,” Tony told him with a smile and turned to head to his own apartment. 

Tony called him about an hour later. “The tree’s here. Meet me in the den.”

Everyone was already in the den when Steve got there. Natasha was supervising Thor on how to put the tree in the stand. It was less crooked than it looked in the lot. 

Natasha wheeled on Steve and Tony when they came into the room. “Which one of you idiots picked this crooked tree?” 

“He did.” Tony threw him under the bus. “Said it had character.”

Steve shrugged. “You knew I’d do it. If you wanted a perfect tree, I’m not your guy.” 

Natasha smiled at him and nodded. “It’s fine.” That was praise from Natasha and as good as it got. She looked at Thor. “Straighten it a little more! To my left!” She stomped toward the tree. “My other left, you boob!” 

Tony headed for the coffee maker. Steve slipped the mistletoe out of his pocket and rummaged around for a hook while no one was paying attention to him. He found a thumbtack and put the little sprig above the door to the den. Amazingly, no one was paying attention. They were all working on the tree or the decorations.

Clint was on the sofa with string and a needle and huge bowl of popcorn. He was stringing popcorn for the tree. Bruce was unpacking bright glass balls and attaching little metal hooks to them. Tony picked up the box of lights and took them out. They were just a large ball of cords and bulbs. Steve headed over to help Tony. They started untangling cords and wrapping the straightened lights on a piece of cardboard cut for just that purpose. 

In a few minutes, Steve noticed everyone got quiet and they were all watching him and Tony. 

“What?” Tony asked her.

“We need the lights first,” Natasha told them. “While you finish, I’ll pour some eggnog and see if there are any Christmas cookies here.” 

Steve smiled. He liked it when she played mom to their group. Sometimes he wondered if she were bothered, being surrounded by men all the time. If she was, she didn’t show it. Natasha was a natural born leader. 

Bruce helped her pour mugs of spiked eggnog and together, they brought over a mug for each of them and a plate of cookies. 

They all sipped eggnog and helped finish up with the light tangle then Tony and Thor put the lights on the tree. As the cookies disappeared, they all headed for the tree and soon, the popcorn and ornaments were all hung on the sparkling tree. 

Tony went over to a cabinet beside the microwave and brought out a bag. He reached in and handed a small wrapped box to each of them, Steve last. 

“What is this? It’s not Christmas yet,” Steve said. 

“Open them,” Tony said as they each did just that. In every box was a tiny gold ornament of that person in their Avengers getup. Tony took one last box out and opened it. It was an Iron Man. 

Steve was amazed at the detail of the little golden figurines. His looked like him right down to the belt and stripes on the shirt. They must have cost Stark a fortune. 

“Thanks, Tony. I love it.” 

Steve fetched the hooks and put one on his ornament then hung it on the tree. He handed the box to Tony, who followed suit. Soon all the tree lacked was a star on top. Tony had taken care of that too. He pulled another box from the cabinet and opened it. It was a star that looked just like the one on Steve’s suit. 

“In honor of the first Avenger,” Tony said as he handed the star to Steve. Thanks to some superhuman balance and some godlike strength, Steve and Thor had the star installed on the tree in no time.

“Get the house lights, Clint,” Natasha directed as she turned the tree lights on. 

The tree sparkled as the lights reflected in the tinsel that Clint insisted on. Tony had objected, but no one won an argument with the archer. The crooked tree was quite lovely as it sparkled in the light. 

“If anyone starts singing, I’ll kill you all,” Barton said as they all looked at the tree. 

Tony came back to the sofa and sat by Steve, a little closer than he needed to since they were the only ones sitting on the sofa. Steve didn’t mind at all. He was surprised when he felt Tony’s arm behind him and his hand on his waist. He leaned a little toward Tony. 

“Maybe we could make a small dinner just for ourselves,” Natasha suggested. “Between us, we should be able to make a few dishes.”

Everyone agreed. They could buy some roasted chicken or a turkey at the deli and then add their own dishes for a Christmas dinner. The staff would be off so they would be on their own. 

One by one, the six of them began to leave the gathering. Steve and Tony were the last ones. Steve unplugged the lights on the tree and followed Tony to the door. He looked up at his mistletoe as they both started through the doorway at once. 

Tony followed his gaze. “Did you do that?” he asked, his voice quiet, soft.

Steve blushed a little and nodded. 

“Any one person in mind to kiss?” Tony asked and Steve realized that he was standing very close. 

Steve nodded. 

“Who would that be?” Tony voice was almost a purr now. 

Steve pulled Tony close and touched his lips to Tony’s. Tony wrapped his arms around Steve, opening his lips to Steve’s kiss. 

“Would you like to come by my place for – a drink?” Steve asked when they paused in their kissing. 

“I’d love it.” 

Steve’s heart pounded as they went to Steve’s quarters. He didn’t bother with the lights as they made their way to the sofa. They kissed until both were breathless with the need for more. 

Tony pulled away. “I really should go. We have a lot to do.” 

Steve wasn’t sure what to say. “I – uh -” he stammered.

“It’s not that I don’t want to stay tonight. This is an important thing for you and me. I want us to be sure and not to jump in hastily.” Tony kissed him again and stood. “Soon. I promise. Soon.” 

And he let himself out. 

Steve sat in the dark for a long time. Soon, he’d said. Tony had said soon. He smiled and touched lips that had just been kissed. 

The next couple of days were busy with the Tower residents buying last minute gifts for one another and the fixings for their holiday dinner. 

Finally, it was Christmas Eve. 

Steve had been working on pencil portraits of each of them for several weeks. He had the drawings done and the matts cut. All he need do was frame them. He was working to that end when someone tapped on his door. 

“Just a minute,” he called out as he lay a blanket over his worktable and answered the door. 

It was Tony. He pulled Steve into a kiss as soon as he closed the door. “All I’ve been able to think about since the other night is you. I see you in everything I do.” He kissed Steve again. “I don’t think waiting is working.”

“What can we do about it?” Steve asked, surprised at his own coyness. 

“We can go to your bedroom and show one another how much we care.” 

“Careful. You’re sounding like a romantic,” Steve murmured between kisses that were heating up rapidly. 

“You can unwrap me like a Christmas present,” Tony said, his hands beginning to touch places he’d not dared touch before. Steve arched against the hand over his zipper and found himself moaning at the sweet pressure. 

The two of them made their way toward Steve’s bedroom, kissing and touching all the way. They didn’t bother with the lights, simply stumbled toward the bed as Steve began unwrapping Tony like the present he certainly was. 

Later, Steve lay on his back with Tony curled up beside him with his head on his shoulder. Steve wanted to say something but was fairly sure he’d just make a mess of things and right now, things were pretty nice. 

“Merry Christmas, Cap,” Tony said softly. 

Steve pulled him up for another kiss. They didn’t sleep for a very long time. 

It snowed overnight and Manhattan looked like a winter wonderland when Steve woke up the next morning and looked outside. He had pulled on his sweatpants and a t-shirt and was standing by the window when Tony walked up beside him. 

Steve put his arm around Tony’s shoulder and pulled him closer. 

“Steve, can you cook? Natasha said we all had to bring something to Christmas dinner. I don’t know about you, but I can’t boil eggs without making a mess.”

“I can make cupcakes from bought mix and bought icing. I was planning on making them. Want to help?” Steve asked Tony. 

“I want to drag you back to bed and play hide the sausage for the rest of the day.”

Steve kissed his forehead. “But can we?” They’d had a rather active night and Steve was even a little tired. 

Tony laughed. “Asshole!” 

“Maybe one more round, then we get up and make some cupcakes?” 

Tony saluted or at least Steve thought it was supposed to be a salute. “Aye, aye, Cap! Anything you say.” 

Everyone gathered in the communal kitchen at six and began to get their dinner ready. Steve and Tony brought several dozen cupcakes of various flavors. Natasha, Clint and Bruce had made a turkey with the fixings – stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans. They had rolls and other breads as well. Pumpkin pie and cheesecake were added to the cupcakes for dessert. Thor brought a mead similar to the kind he drank at home in Asgard. 

They gathered at the big table and ate a surprising amount of the food, laughing and talking as they filled themselves. Tony sat beside Steve and when no one was looking, he’d pat Steve on the thigh or squeeze his leg. 

They all exchanged gifts and talked late into the night. When it came time to go to bed, Steve left with Tony. 

When they got to Tony’s door, Steve asked him, “Are we a thing now?” 

“Do you want to be?” 

Steve grinned. “More than you know.” 

Tony opened the door and motioned for Steve to go in first. As soon as the door closed, he reached for Steve and kissed him. “We are a thing, Captain Rogers,” he whispered as they went to his bed without bothering with the lights. 

“Merry Christmas, Tony,” Steve whispered in the darkened room. 

“And to all a good night!” Tony answered. 

Neither of them talked for a long while after that and they had a very merry Christmas indeed.


End file.
